Ban on adverts: celebrities must unite and speak up

Being a Ghanaian celebrity or entertainer is fast becoming depressing and frustrating. In fact, it is becoming a dismal situation for them because they are losing out on revenue over confounding reasons.

The Gaming Commission of Ghana has issued guidelines that bar celebrities from endorsing or advertising betting companies in the country. This comes just months after another essential regulatory body, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) prohibited celebrities from endorsing alcoholic beverages.

The directive of the Gaming Commission has again brought discussions about celebrity endorsements in Ghana to the fore and how appropriately or otherwise they are being regulated.

Celebrities in a fix
In a haphazard creative industry like what pertains in Ghana, endorsement deals have become the most viable revenue-generating option for entertainers.

In an era where COVID-19 has ravaged the entertainment space, endorsement deals have become the ultimate saving grace for celebrities and taking that privilege from them at this crucial time could be devastating.

The point must also be made that in close to a decade, alcoholic beverage companies and in recent times, betting companies have become the biggest supporters of the creative industry.
 
Killing the relationship they have with the creative industry and its stakeholders is synonymous to cutting off the umbilical cord of a developing foetus.

Celebrity endorsement is key
In the grand scheme of progression for celebrities and corporate firms, celebrity advertisements have always been crucial, a symbiotic relationship that benefits both sides.

Using a celebrity to represent a brand helps to set that brand apart from its competitors. It also can improve advert recall, making consumers remember the commercial and the fact that the brand is connected to their favourite celebrity.

Celebrity advertisers build brand awareness, and they build it much more quickly than traditional types of advertising.

Brand awareness measures the percentage of people who are familiar with a particular brand so choosing the right celebrity can also open up brands to new markets.

The use of a celebrity in an advertisement may also help to breathe life into a failing brand and the affinity consumers have for certain celebrities can greatly influence their purchases.

Rapper Edem has spoken out strongly against the Food and Drugs Authority over its ban on celebrities endorsing alcoholic beverages

Regulation is important
It’s a no brainer that without any form of regulation, there’s bound to be anarchy and lawlessness.

Regulations are indispensable for the proper functioning of economies and societies.  They underpin markets, protect the rights and safety of citizens and ensure the delivery of public goods and services.

Regulatory authorities are commonly set up to enforce safety and standards, and/or to protect consumers in markets where there is a lack of effective competition or the potential for the undue exercise of market power.

They are typically a part of the executive branch of the government and have statutory authority to perform their functions with oversight from the legislature. Their actions are generally open to legal review.

Regulatory agencies deal in the areas of administrative law, regulatory law, secondary legislation, and rulemaking.

The Gaming Commission has the backing of the law, established by the Gaming Act 2006, Act 721 with the main purpose of regulating, controlling, monitoring and supervising the operations of Games of Chance in the country.

Confusion in guidelines
Just like the FDA, the guidelines for the Gaming Commission are fraught with discrepancies.

It is confounding to note that the Commission has so many provisions that should deter children under age 18 from betting, yet, it has an issue with celebrities fronting for betting companies.

Some of the provisions are;

The Commission, in protecting the interests of punters, customers and stakeholders, mandates that advertisements must contain warnings like “Gamble Responsibly”, “Only 18 Years+”, “Gambling is Addictive” etc. and any other warnings that may be prescribed by the Commission.

Advertisements shall not appeal either directly or indirectly, to persons under the legal gaming age of 18 years, or be placed in any media that is targeted specifically at such persons.

Gaming advertisements shall not run during the airing of movies or programmes with the following ratings: Family (F), Parental Guidance 16 (PG 16) and Adult Accompaniment (AA).

No gaming advertisements shall be allowed at a public function where persons under the legal gaming age are likely to attend.

With all of these precautions in place, what’s the point of prohibiting celebrities from featuring in betting advertisements?

If the Commission has the strongest conviction in the above provisions and more, they would not fret over celebrities advertising for the companies under the same rules.

Celebrities must speak up
Thus far, the only celebrity agitating over the directive is Wendy Shay. She’s even made a threat to take the Commission to court and has entreated her fellow celebrities to put their differences aside and speak up.

She is right!
These celebrities are ‘sleeping’, oblivious of the clout and influence they wield to make changes. They fail to appreciate the kind of following they command to be able to cause change.

Most of them are quiet because they are presently not being affected by directives from both the FDA and the Gaming Commission. They will be caught by surprise when similar unfavourable rules are applied to whatever brand(s) they are endorsing now.

The earlier these celebrities realise that these directives are inimical to their business, livelihood and well-being, the better for them.

They must unite, speak with one voice and make a genuine protestation over such directives. Rules were made by humans and when deemed unfavourable, they can be altered by the same humans.  They must rise, unite and speak up now!